A return to Queen’s Beach headlines the University of Hawaii beach volleyball team’s 2022 schedule released on Tuesday.
The BeachBows, under interim coach Evan Silberstein, will play their first two home events of the season in Waikiki starting with the Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic set for Feb. 25 and 26. The tournament will also feature Saint Mary’s, Stanford and UCLA. After a road trip to Arizona for the Cactus Classic (March 4-5), UH returns for the Queen’s Cup, which will include California, Nebraska, TCU and UC Davis on March 10-12.
UH will face conference foes in the Big West Challenge on March 25-26 in Long Beach, Calif. The road trip includes meetings with last year’s NCAA Tournament finalists in UCLA (March 31) and defending champion USC (April 2).
The BeachBows will face Grand Canyon and Loyola Marymount on April 9 and 10 in the season’s lone dates at the Ching Complex on campus.
The Big West championship is set for April 29-30 in San Luis Obispo, Calif., with UH aiming for a return to the NCAA tournament set for May 4-8 in Gulf Shores, Ala.
Warriors drop in media volleyball poll
The University of Hawaii men’s volleyball slipped to No. 2 in the Off the Block National Media Poll on Tuesday after dropping two matches at Ball State.
UH (4-2) received seven first-place votes, but was overtaken by Big West rival Long Beach State (5-1), which jumped two spots to No. 1. The Warriors remained No. 1 in the NVA/AVCA Coaches Poll released Monday.
The Warriors were swept by Ball State (No. 10 coaches, No. 8 media) on Saturday and dropped a five-set match on Monday, losing back-to-back matches for the first time since two five-set duels at LBSU to close the 2019 regular season.
UH opens the First Point Collegiate Challenge on Friday in Austin, Texas. The Warriors will face Fairleigh Dickinson and Queens on Friday and Stanford on Saturday.
Alo on national team roster; OU to face UH
Hauula’s Jocelyn Alo was named to the USA Softball Women’s National Team’s roster for two events this summer.
Alo is on the U.S. roster for the Canada Cup set for June 20-26 in Surrey, B.C, and for the Japan All-Star Series on Aug. 1-9 in Fukushima, Japan.
Alo, a Campbell graduate, is entering her senior season at Oklahoma as the reigning USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year and is seven home runs away from tying the NCAA career record of 95. The defending national champion Sooners are scheduled to play in the Bank of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Classic set for March 9-12 in Manoa.